Ono Kine Grindz in Eureka
She Said: I've been fighting a food coma since I finished lunch. Tony and I went to Banana Hut, the only Hawaiian place in town, for the very first time today. The food was absolutely delicious. It took us back to our Maui honeymoon, where we ate like the locals do and each came back ten pounds heavier.
Two words: Plate Lunch. It's the traditional Hawaiian midday meal. If you're unfamiliar, it's typically a scoop of macaroni salad (heavy on the mayonnaise), a scoop of rice (because the mac salad doesn't provide quite enough starch), and a main dish. This could be kalua pork, shoyu chicken, chicken katsu, pineapple ribs, or my husband's favorite, Loco Moco--a hamburger patty topped with a fried egg and smothered in brown gravy. That's what he had today. I couldn't pass up the kalua pork. The last time I ate that, it had just been unearthed from a pit in the ground. This was almost as good. And the musubi! Spam has never tasted so good.
We went to the Old Lahaina Luau on our honeymoon, and that food comprised one of the best meals either of us has ever had. (Also on the short list is the amazing dinner we had at Cin Cin last weekend.) It was nice to reminisce about that trip as we chowed down on our simple, savory Hawaiian comfort food in an unassuming setting. We still haven't shed the weight we gained on Maui, so we can't make a habit of eating at this place, but maybe once or twice a month wouldn't have too strong an impact on our waistlines...and our arteries.